Paleontology

What fossils can I collect from public lands?

Visitors to public lands are welcome to collect reasonable amounts of common invertebrate, such as ammonites and trilobites, and common plant fossils, such as leaf impressions and cones, without a BLM permit.

Petrified wood can be collected too for personal use — up to 25 pounds each day, plus one piece, but no more than 250 pounds in any calendar year (43 CFR 3622). These materials must be for your personal collection and cannot be sold or traded.

Note that some lands may be closed to hobby or casual collecting of fossils, so always check in with the local BLM office in the area you would like to collect from. On private lands, fossils may only be collected with the permission of the landowner.